Lake Trends. Other Voices.

Special Delivery

Hospitals' Birthing Methods Change

April 10, 1994

"Part of me is really concerned that people are being sent home before they are emotionally ready. They might be physically ready. ... It is a major life transition." - Sandra DeStaffany, president, International Childbirth Education Association, Minneapolis

"It's very difficult to impart all of the education aspects of child care that new mothers need in just 24 hours after delivery. The parents are really exhausted, and they don't retain a lot." - Jean Straka, Naperville, American Society for Psychoprophylaxis in Obstetrics/Lamaze

"We have not seen much of a demand for nurse-midwives at Highland Park Hospital, which is why we haven't implemented them here, but we would consider the issue in the future." - Christine Dimitrov, public relations manager, Highland Park Hospital

"In many hospitals, a normal birth is treated like a disaster about to happen. The father worries along with the staff about the baby, and no one can be as effective an advocate for the mother as a doula." - Penny Simkin, founder, Doulas in North America, Seattle